Several artifacts from the Philippines are going on display at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University.

The items range from a Bagobo women's trinket bag embroidered with beads and sequins, and Ifugao food bowl made from carved wood, to an Igorot small bag with three compartments used for carrying items.

Such artifacts are just a fraction of the museum's more than 8,000 ethnographic and photographic materials from the Philippines.

Among the first few Filipino-Americans to see the historic items were students of the inaugural Filipino Language class at Harvard taught by Lady Aileen Orsal.

Harvard student Miggy Antonio had spent much of his life in the U.S. He said the experience allowed him to reconnect with his Filipino culture and colonial past.

"Young Filipino Americans should take the chance to get in touch with their heritage and culture," he said. "Living here in America, it's very easy to isolated from all the issues in Philippine history."

Calvin Macantantan, meanwhile, said he was surprised at the many different artifacts at the museum.

"A lot of the objects were like handcrafted from the Philippines and it really made me better understand the history of the Philippines just knowing about these different artifacts," he said.

Fil-Am associate archivist Marie Wasnock worked hand in hand with Philippines collection curator Inggrid Ahlgren to launch the museum's online exhibit called: "Balikbayan Homecoming: Filipino Perspectives on the Philippines" Collection.

There are more than 5,700 of photos taken in the Philippines between 1899 and 1940 that have been scanned and are now available in the Peabody Museum’s online collection.

A chunk of the images were also from the personal collection of William Forbes – the American diplomat who became governor general of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913.  

"It really reflects the Philippines before the U.S. colonization so viewers will be able to see what the Philippines look like before the US government got there," said Wasnock."

She added: "There's a lot there that we can discover about having by just asking questions. I hope that this collection will inspire not just Filipinos, but [also] just anyone who sees them to ask more questions about the Philippines or about Filipino culture and history."

The online exhibit can be accessed by visiting peabody.harvard.edu/balikbayan_homecoming